BELLEDUNE, N.B. (June 2, 2004) — The Belledune-Corner Brook cargo ferry link project is still on hold.

The roll-on, roll-off ferry service for transport truck trailers was set to begin in may, but the Belledune Port Authority is still waiting for the Corner Brook port to be transferred from the federal government to the local port corporation.

The service could still while divestiture process concludes, but Rigel Shipping Canada, the company that will operate the service, is still in the process of securing a vessel.

Brian Ritchie, the president and CEO of Rigel Shipping told the Moncton Times and Transcript that there simply aren’t as many ships in the market as there were two-and-a-half years ago when the Belledune-Corner Brook project started.

Ideally, both parties would like to see the service start this summer. A fall start would leave less time for operators to get used to the run before winter hits. Ritchie says they need to get the service going before the end of October.

— from The Moncton Times and Transcript